April 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) requests public comment on possible changes to the labeling and advertising requirements of alcohol beverage products regulated by TTB. The agency has long required certain labeling, such as brand name, class and type, alcohol content (in the case of wines containing more than 14 percent alcohol by volume and distilled spirits), net contents, and in recent years has published updated standards for the use of carbohydrate and calorie claims. Because of petitions to mandate additional information, including ingredient, allergen, alcohol, calorie, and carbohydrate content and requests by some to use labels with at least some of that additional information on a voluntary basis under existing rules, TTB believes it is now appropriate to consider revising the alcohol beverage labeling and advertising regulations, and seeks public comment on several issues to assist the agency in formulating specific regulatory proposals.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) prohibit States from issuing, renewing, transferring or upgrading a commercial driver's license (CDL) with a hazardous materials endorsement unless the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has first conducted a security threat assessment of the applicant and determined the applicant does not pose a security risk warranting denial of the hazardous materials endorsement. The FMCSRs currently provide a specific date on which States become subject to the new requirement. This interim final rule amends the FMCSRs to cross-reference the TSA's compliance date as the date when FMCSA's companion requirements also become applicable. Consistent with TSA regulations, FMCSA also reduces the amount of advance notice that States must provide to drivers that a security threat assessment will be performed when they renew a hazardous materials endorsement. This rule is being issued as an IFR because it relates back to an existing substantive IFR published on May 5, 2003. This IFR will be subsumed into that rulemaking when it is finalized. All outstanding comments on these issues will be addressed in that final document.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary regulated navigation area, temporary security zone and temporary drawbridge operation regulation during the Organization of American States (OAS) conference. These regulations are needed to provide for public safety and security during the OAS conference. The regulations will control the movement of vessels within the regulated navigation area, restrict access to the security zone, and alter the schedule of the Brooks Memorial Bascule Bridge.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has approved a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Norfolk Southern (NS) 5 Railroad Bridge across the Elizabeth River, Eastern Branch, at mile 1.1, in Norfolk, VA in May 2005. To facilitate extensive maintenance that is required at the bridge, the deviation allows the drawbridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position for three daytime closure periods during May, each closure period lasting 2 to 4 days.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Arizona (FEMA-1586-DR), dated April 14, 2005, and related determinations.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of New Jersey (FEMA-1588-DR), dated April 19, 2005, and related determinations.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of an emergency for the State of Maine (FEMA-3210-EM), dated April 21, 2005, and related determinations.

By this Notice, the Department of the Treasury is informing the public that it is conducting a mandatory survey of foreign ownership of U.S. securities as of June 30, 2005. This Notice constitutes legal notification to all United States persons (defined below) who meet the reporting requirements set forth in this Notice that they must respond to, and comply with, this survey. Additional copies of the reporting forms SHLA (2005) and instructions may be printed from the Internet at: https://www.treas.gov/tic/forms.htm. Definition: A U.S. person is any individual, branch, partnership, associated group, association, estate, trust, corporation, or other organization (whether or not organized under the laws of any State), and any government (including a foreign government, the United States Government, a state, provincial, or local government, and any agency, corporation, financial institution, or other entity or instrumentality thereof, including a government-sponsored agency), who resides in the United States or is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Who Must Report: The panel for this survey is based upon the level of foreign holdings of U.S. securities reported on the June 2004 benchmark survey of foreign holdings of U.S. securities, and will consist of the largest reporters on that survey. Entities required to report will be contacted individually by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Entities not contacted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have no reporting responsibilities. What To Report: This report will collect information on foreign resident holdings of U.S. securities, including equities, short-term debt securities (including selected money market instruments), and long-term debt securities. How To Report: Copies of the survey forms and instructions, which contain complete information on reporting procedures and definitions, can be obtained by contacting the survey staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at (212) 720-6300, e-mail: SHLA.help@ny.frb.org. The mailing address is: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Statistics Function, 4th Floor, 33 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10045-0001. Inquiries can also be made to Mr. William L. Griever, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, at (202) 452-2924, e-mail: william.l.griever@frb.gov; or to Dwight Wolkow at (202) 622-1276, e- mail: wolkowd@do.treas.gov. When To Report: Data should be submitted to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, acting as fiscal agent for the Department of the Treasury, by August 31, 2005. Paperwork Reduction Act Notice: This data collection has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act and assigned control number 1505-0123. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid control number assigned by OMB. The estimated average annual burden associated with this collection of information is 486 hours per report for the largest custodians of securities, and 110 hours per report for the largest issuers of securities that have data to report and are not custodians. Comments concerning the accuracy of this burden estimate and suggestions for reducing this burden should be directed to the Department of the Treasury, Attention Administrator, International Portfolio Investment Data Reporting Systems, Room 4410@1440NYA, Washington, DC 20220, and to OMB, Attention Desk Officer for the Department of the Treasury, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) management policies, a Draft East Alaska Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EARMP/EIS) has been prepared for public lands and resources administered by the Bureau of Land Management's Glennallen Field Office. The public is invited to review and comment on the range and adequacy of the draft alternatives and associated environmental effects. For comments to be most helpful, they should relate to specific concerns or conflicts that are within the legal responsibilities of the BLM and can be resolved in this planning process. The Draft EARMP/EIS will provide the management guidance for resource decisions on 7.1 million acres of BLM-administered lands in East Alaska. The EARMP/EIS will replace the Southcentral Management Framework Plan approved in 1980.

The Coast Guard announces the stand-up of Sector Corpus Christi. Sector Corpus Christi is an internal reorganization that combines Group Corpus Christi and Marine Safety Office Corpus Christi into a single command. The Coast Guard has established a continuity of operations whereby all previous practices and procedures will remain in effect until superseded by an authorized Coast Guard official or document.

This action modifies Federal Airway 208 (V-208) by changing the originating point of the airway from the Santa Catalina, CA, Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range/Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC) to the Ventura, CA, VORTAC. This modification extends V-208 by incorporating a route segment that air traffic control (ATC) frequently assigns to aircraft arriving in the Los Angeles, CA, terminal area. This action will enhance air safety, simplify routings, and reduce controller workload in the Southern California area.

Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission (the Commission) will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2005, at 1:30 p.m., at the National Building Museum, Room 312, 401 F Street, NW., Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss currently authorized and proposed memorials in the District of Columbia and its environs. In addition to discussing general matters and conducting routine business, the Commission will review the status of legislative proposals introduced in the 108th Congress to establish memorials in the District of Columbia and its environs, as follows:

The United States Postal Service[reg] (USPS[reg]) is publishing this notice in accordance with subsection (e)(4) of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), which requires an agency to issue notice of the existence and character of its systems of records upon establishment or revision. In this notice, the USPS is revising and publishing its Privacy Act systems of records in their entirety. The revised systems of records are better organized and are written with clarity as a goal. The systems of records incorporate Privacy Act and USPS privacy policies, and reflect USPS emphasis on industry best practices to protect privacy. Routine uses have been revised to more clearly communicate circumstances under which personal information might be disclosed.

This notice announces the second public meeting of the Advisory Board on the Demonstration of a Bundled Case-Mix Adjusted Payment System for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Services. Notice of this meeting is required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2, section 10(a)(1) and (a)(2)). The Advisory Board will provide advice and recommendations with respect to the establishment and operation of the demonstration mandated by section 623(e) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.